On Wednesday 11th April 2007, anti-poverty campaigners from Brighton & Hove World Development Movement (WDM) travelled to Surrey in order to depict Dorking-based water company Biwater as an aggressive bully beating up poverty-stricken Tanzania behind closed doors.
They demonstrated outside Biwater House, Station Approach, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1TZ at 11:00am.
The campaigners were highlighting the secretive legal action Biwater was due to be taking against the Government of Tanzania on 16th April, the date the case was to be heard in The Hague.
This legal action was launched following the collapse of the water privatisation contract with which Biwater’s subsidiary – City Water – was involved, in Dar es Salaam in 2005.
Biwater
Biwater is seeking millions of pounds from Tanzania following the cancellation of the contract. Despite the case being of public interest both here in the UK and especially in Tanzania, Biwater has opposed requests by the Government of Tanzania that the case be heard in public.
Biwater has also opposed the tribunal taking place on African soil and the release of important documents relating to the case. Sarah Berger from Brighton & Hove World Development Movement said: “The event went extremely well and we got a lot of interest from passers-by. We in Brighton and Hove feel that the issue of water provision is not just a local matter, but both a global and a national one, which is why we travelled to Dorking to show our feelings about Biwater.
"Companies are often the first to complain about the lack of transparency and accountability in developing countries yet Biwater now wants the case to be heard in secrecy. What have they got to hide? It is a disgrace that Biwater has resorted to these tactics.”
Andrew Mushi, an anti-water privatisation campaigner from Tanzania said: “Tanzania is a very poor country. Whatever the result of the court case it will use up money and resources that would be better used putting things right in into Tanzania ’s water system. Water privatisation in my country was a condition of debt relief and it has failed to get water to those who desperately need it.
" It is unjust that a British company like Biwater is trying to claw back money after they failed in their job.”
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